<p>im graduating in may and am currently deciding between bucknell, denison, auburn, ou, and trinity (TX). i love certain parts of each of these schools but am not sure which will be the perfect fit. i intend to eventually go to med school so i obviously want a place the will prepare me well and provide me with awesome opportunities. i am a national merit finalist so im getting a full ride to both auburn and ou while going to bucknell would cost my family about $30,000 a year; with that said, which of these schools is worth the extra buck?? im also torn between swimming collegiately with offers from bucknell, denison, and trinity... any retired or current college athletes who would persuade me for or against taking part in a varsity sport ?? (im mosstly worried about time management, detracting from my academic focus, not fitting in with college swimmers who are notorious for partying, etc.) </p>
<p>Any advice about these schools would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!</p>
<p>As a Wake Forest alum, I’m attracted to Bucknell since it seems, in many ways, to be Wake’s northern cousin. But I couldn’t recommend spending an additional $120,000 for any school. If that sum is a non-factor in the scope of your family’s finances then I’d like Bucknell, but in this case, you can have either Bucknell or OU + your first house all paid for.</p>
<p>Denison is a great school, and very underrated. Trinity and Bucknell are also viewed highly. What sort of aid would you receive from Denison and Trinity? I agree with gadad, I don’t think Bucknell is worth 30,000/yr, when your other choices are Auburn and OU. Plus, if you really want to go to med school, I’d take the free undergrad and save money for med school. </p>
<p>I’m assuming you’d be in the honors colleges at Auburn and OU too. I don’t know anything about their honors colleges, but I would look at them to see what they can offer. If they are really good honors colleges, they’d have (a combination of) separate housing, smaller discussion-based classes available, early registration, research funding, and an honors thesis option. That would help make a large university feel smaller, like Trinity or Bucknell, and would offer you the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Here are my expected out of pocket expenses:</p>
<p>Denison: $13,000 a year
Trinity $22,000 a year
Bucknell: $33,000 a year (i did earn a place within the presidential fellows program here which i think is a great opportunity; however, the accompanying scholarship is simply not enough to make it an affordable option)
both Auburn and OU: $5-7,000 a year (when considering fees and living expenses)</p>
<p>I am in the honors colleges at both auburn and ou and hopefully will be invited to join at denison. when it comes to med school, how much weight do they put into the “repuation” of the school? (i know that GPA, MCAT scores, etc. are the biggest factors)</p>